Contest Closed

Track Worlds completes what I consider to be a successful track campaign. It also starts a whole chapter in the cycling year of 2006. Now I am back in Virginia, back at the monastery…it seemed to work last time right. Over the next couple days I will be riding when weather permits (there is major thunderstorms in the forecast right now…and racing my first road race this year at the tour of Shenandoah. I am looking forward to it.
The Contest is officially closed…Christoph and I will be locking ourselves deep in the monastery cloister for some meditation and deliberation on your submissions and when smoke rises from the monastery BBQ the final 5 will have been selected for the final stage.
Also I will be working on a video from world championships that will include but is not limited to footage of mini super bike riding so stay tuned.

Judges, Journeys, Jokers and Jet Lag

The contest is looking good, keep the entries coming. In my opinion we have some strong competitors. However I believe some of the favorites are yet to be claimed. The entries will officially close on the 18th of April (that’s when I am back from worlds).

Right now Favorites: (In my opinion) include the Flash, and firestorm…but contestants like James bond and the $6,000,000 man are bound to have secrets up their sleeves.

One last contest note: I am proud to announce the guest Judge for the contest. Many of you have seen him on the site before, none other than the bishop of bike, the guru of gears, direct from the Charlottesville Monastery, always a humanitarian and fraudulent veterinarian; MR…….CHRISTOPH HERBY whaaaaaaa yeah the tens of people go wild.

That’s right ladies, the superstar himself, from 2skinnypros.com. His resume includes but is not limited to:
- Most jacked cyclist on 2skinnypros.com (excluding the CAT 3 corner)
- Voted most aerodynamic at the Rite Aid Camp
- Film Star Ultraordinar (that’s right beyond Extrordinar and absolutely NOT Ordinar)

Finally, on the docket today we have a new video available for your viewing pleasure. This is a good one, an energetic film about the Commonwealth Games experience…I had so much material that it was hard to edit…so enjoy…and remember…its not over till its over.

So keep your contest entries coming…with the entries thus far I will guarantee a prize
with some commonwealth games schwag in it for the winner so now it is really worth your time to get in on the action.

The Ultimate Showdown of CYCLING destiny…CONTEST (Reader Interactive)

So a friend of mine recently sent me this funny little song called the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny. It got me thinking, what if these superheroes/villains, settled there differences on the bike like responsible masters riders…who would win?

Well now is their chance…Allow me to introduce the opening of the Zerailleur Ultimate Showdown of CYCLING Destiny Contest. I am asking all of you readers out there (how ever many 5’s that might be) to submit your contestant (by adding a comment to this article). Please provide the ONE most significant reason you think this superhero/villain rider could win the Tour de France (Super Hero Edition). In approximately 2 – 4 Weeks (or when I get to it)…I will select a top 5 from the nominations (providing there are more than 5) and post a web poll to the readers to choose a winner. If your Super hero wins…hooray…you are the best super hero cycling coach ever…BUT you also may or may not be eligible for a prize valued in the ones of dollars (It depends on how much interest there is, I will try to put something cool together for your efforts).

Here are the Ground Rules and fine Print:

Race Details: Tour de France style race, with all available individual jerseys and time bonuses. The rider you select is racing for the Yellow. His/her strengths and weaknesses will be pitted against those of the other finalists. NOT AGAINST ORDINARY CYCLISTS, so choose carefully. (i.e. Superman would loose to a kryptonite toting weekend warrior)

Eligibility: Entrant may be any fictitious character you deem capable of riding a stock, commercially available frame size; some riders may be scaled somewhat to fit (i.e. the hulk could ride a 62cm frame). Entrants may come from be but are not limited to comic books, film, radio, literature, or any other realm of pop culture appropriate to a PG audience that you feel you can make a convincing and hopefully entertaining argument for.

Limitations:
- Your rider must not be of Theological origin (don’t want to argue religion with anyone)
- Your rider must be a pre-established character…I don’t want to find a super hero entered called “super amazing bike guy” made up by me. If I can’t find it by entering the name in google it won’t make the cut.
- Your rider must have innate NATURALLY GIFTED ability. Any potions, injections, or performance enhancing race apparel (rocket packs, strength potions etc.) will be viewed as being in violation of WADA regulations and will result in an immediate ban from the contest.
- Your rider must be submitted SOLO, i.e. Mr. Stretch would NOT compete as a member of the Fantastic 4. (maybe we will do a team contest if this goes well)
- Riders will have to ride within the rules of the UCI, no maiming, killing, melting of others person or equipment. All superhuman powers must be used to advance ones own cycling.

If your rider is selected for the final 5 you will be given an opportunity to write a brief blog describing the point in the race where he/she took it all. This will be your chance to sway other readers to vote in your characters favor. This will be edited to an appropriate blog length before I post it so no novels. This would be totally optional if your hero is selected.

Hero’s are on a first submission first dibs basis so if you’re hero or variant of your hero is taken you are out of luck. (i.e. If you want superman and Clark Kent has been claimed, better ask wonder woman what she is up to).

If you add a hero in the form of a comment I will have your email I think so I will let you know if you make the final 5. One hero per person.

Good Luck

Here is a Test Poll to see if I can actually do the real poll at the end…please try it out…I am not sure if it will work?

Airport Reflecting Pools

So I am sitting here in the LAX airport…paying for the day long internet connection…because, unfortunately, I am here long enough that it is actually a good deal…I will have been here almost 12 hours by the time my plane leaves the ground…I guess it is giving me the time to reflect on the experience of my first major games….the best way to analyze it…lets *WICKY WICKY* break it down

The Goods:
- Food, in many verities, every 100m or so, 24hours a day as far as I could tell
- 300 dollar HBC blanket
- CDN Record, 5th in the Scratch, a smoking TT along the beach and tan lines to boot.
- FOOS BALL, In the house for free (after some aggressive negotiation with the table)
- A sweet track and the best group of Canadian cycling dudes to chill with (Mtn bikers are all right guys.)
- Travis Smith – two medals – the first two by a pizza man who get you your pizza when it absolutely, positively has to be there over night some time…
- Air Miles – I am one step closer to being super ultra mondo cool air Canada dude guy who can sit in the lounge and listen to jazz music while I wait…
- I have finally found the axel that makes me ride fast…AXEL ROSE
- Melbourne and Melbournians (highly recommended as a vacation or final shipwreck destination)
- TROY, not the movie, the bad ass dude who could fix all our bikes…and all the tri-athletes bikes (oops we forgot our mechanic in Canada…you work for free right) and all the wheel chair athletes…he must have been hired by the CCTAWA cause he never complained once…

The Bad’s
- Holy butt crack X Ray shorts batman
- The Martin’s grasp of English present tense “don’t broke my rollers”
- Cam’s grasp of French profanity (and French in general)
- 7 days of travel time total…I mean I know it is a long way but wouldn’t it be faster to just wait for the earth to spin underneath you???
- Bike BAGs…as in plural, as in to damn much crap to fit in the average elevator…
- Eating with sprinters when you are a endurance dude…”come on one more steak won’t make you go down hill any slower…what you can go up hill on a bike???”
- my bikes had better have been up in the first class cabin since the cost more to put on the plane than ME.
- having to leave the day after your event…and missing the opening ceremonies at your first games…

Well there you have it…I would say that weighs in at just a pound over good times where had by all with only a hint of jet lag…with the long travel times I think I was able to progressively adjust to the time change, its really the only way to travel…next time I will take boat…a row boat I think…that way I will never know the difference.

See you on the right…

THE MOST ANTICIPATED SHORT DOCUMENTARY TYPE MONASTIC CYCLING FILM OF THE YEAR

Check out the NEW VIDEO….wednesday, WEdnEsday WEDNESDAY

Ha ha..the people here in the plesantville that is the Commonwealth Games Village are kind enough to provide us with high speeeeeeeed interweb free of charge…and I, the ever concious blogtastic master of my own domain name have passed the beauty of it all on to you. The Charlletsville Documentary has recived excellent reviews with blog goers saying it is “nearly the best short documentary type film under 3 min set to monastic chanting they have seen all year.” and “Christoph Herby is the best cyclist in a monastic roll in 2006.” “he delivers a confusing and moving performance that leaves you laughing on your side and wondering what date it actually is.”

If you see only one short documentry type monastic film all afternoon make it this one….

Reviews may not be actual quotes, infact reviews are likley entirly made up…but the fact that I went to the trouble should make you want to see it even more…

Pursuit and PEZ

A few brief updates from the land down under…
I raced the pursuit yesterday to an excellent time for me…4:37.68 something…A PB by about 5 seconds…and about 1.5 seconds off the Canadian record…that is good heading into Melbourne. Sorry no video yet…the only internet I have her I dial up so any visually interesting media will have to wait until I can find a connection that will support it.

Finally, I got reviewed on PEZ Cycling news…pretty cool I think…even with the spelling errors I make the review was positive. Thanks PEZ…
Here is the link…it is way down at the very bottum.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/default.asp?pg=fullstory&id=3828

I would also like to thank all the people who are sending me emails of support before the Commonwealth Games…

Quick and Dirty Briefs…

SO I am sitting the Richmond Airport, using the free internet and preparing for my 36 hour trek across the globe for the world cup and commonwealth games. The last few weeks have been and interesting and exciting time for me…I met up with my team at a mini camp in Virginia. After a week at the monastery (video coming soon) with Christoph Herby (www.2skinnypros.com) , I spent the remainder of this last week setting up, training on, and tweaking my new team bikes… A Merlin and a Quintana Roo TT frame(Pictures also coming soon). It has been like Christmas, we even had the snow. As I set off I am feeling fantastically optimistic. The training has been great, and the idle time I have had here in the airport has really let me reflect and revel in the situation I find myself in at the moment in life in general. Maybe I am just elated at the fact that the wireless internet here in the airport is free…correct me if I am wrong but that just doesn’t happen in the real world does it? Good on the people of Richmond for providing something of convenience for no charge. It makes up for all the temperamental K-9’s that have nipped at my heels here…the rides have been beautiful…you just have to enjoy them at high speed in order to outrun the obviously athletic dogs who clearly make regular meals of local cyclists…they seemed to pursue me with extra vigor…I suppose they don’t see beefy track cyclist, all you can eat, meal on wheels too often. When Christoph and I where riding together it must have been like making a choice between celery and steak (or modified soy protein vegan burgers for you class 7 vegan cyclist out there, although I think Christoph does still cast a shadow??)
That’s all I have for now…but here are a few of the things here in Virginia that have put me in such a good mood. All the below come highly recommended…

Hedwig and the Angry Inch – Fantastic, Google It to find out more
Moxy Fruvous – Cunuckazation at its best
Chinese desserts and Cycling Trivia

Watch for more visually enticing hot and cold media coming soon….

Commonwealth Games

So, after many weeks of waiting and wondering, the CCA has finally decided my fate for the next few months. I have been sitting and stewing, training and hoping to hear if my partner on the track, Martin Gilbert, and I would be named to the Games Team. Today I got the news I have been waiting for. As I hoped and prayed over the past few months, we made the cut. After personal best rides in LA this past weekend I had done all I could to demonstrate my potential value to the team. Now that I have been selected I have so much motivation to make the most of my dwindling training time. Not that I wasn’t motivated before but, this will add to my allready boiling vat of anticipation for the season to come. Time to get down to business.

You can Find Details about the Games at www.melbourne2006.com.au.

One of the Originals…

V02 Max testing has been used for years, by all kinds of athletes, for all kinds of reasons…but what is really being tested?

Sure you come out of it with a bunch of numbers and a good indication of the kind of shape you are in for riding your bike…but for a cyclist, or for me anyway, there is a little more in it than that.

(150 Watts) you are testing yourself…on a lot of levels…your physiology is only a small part of it…your psychological strength is pushed, a lot more, a lot further…harder…this seems harder than it should be.

(200 Watts) it’s your ability to focus…un-focus…control…control your breathing…your breathing moving the valves of the alien apparatus that is perched on the top of your head…like one of those old hard shell Bell helmets (you know the ones with the flip up logo for added ventilation)…valves open, close…vents, chambers…your heart…wow!! your heart rate is low but you are breathing heavy….

(250 Watts) maybe you just need to relax…relax…I feel tight…just relax and breath… this isn’t so bad I guess…it’s sort of like racing only without the fun…racing is fun, especially when you can really move…move…move your legs…keep it moving.

(300Watts) It’s not like you’re moving…but you are pushing…it has the same kind of rhythm as the first few anxious minutes of a break…anxious minutes left…anxiety…my heart rate is coming up…this is getting a little tough…tough…you gotta be tough…it is only going to get worse…worse or….

(350 Watts) better…it’s a journey that makes you better…stronger…I feel stronger…stronger than last time…stronger than ever…this is taking forever…but you keep going…keep pushing and racing…to beat yourself…your toughest competition…

(400 Watts) It’s a test that pushes you to the pinnacle of your strength…it is a test because it tests you…what are you capable of…what are other people capable of…it’s like a race…and now its go time…it’s getting tough…winding up…up the tempo …

(450 Watts) this is the tempo…hard…hard to hold…hard to push…hard to pass…pass out…out cold…maybe I would rather be out in the numb cold…my hands are cold, numb like pins and needles…

(500 Watts) the cold…I start to feel like an anti-cold…hard to catch but everyone’s trying…this is it, this is for the racing…you get through this, you win the race…against your opponents…against yourself…this is the best part…the pain…the pain everyone else must be feeling…feeling only in the legs…none in the hands…it’s out of my hands…it’s all the head now…

(550) The head is hot and cold…harder…it’s harder…I am slowing down…I need to go faster…faster…faster… … … …this made me faster…more pain in the bank…to be saved up and redistributed to competitors later in the friendly exchange of gifts called a bike race.

previously on jetfuel…

This year I wrote a fair bit of content on my bike team’s site. You can check out all posts by me here: click boom/go

We took a bunch of photos during the races this year too, here’s some samplers: